Lumber company sells Largo property to Chicago investors
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 4, 2022

The Hearin Lumber Co. property in Largo has been sold to a Chicago-based corporate entity linked to Financial Investments Corp. for $5.395 million, according to a deed filed in Pinellas County.

County documents show the deal closed on March 31 for the industrial yard at 2180 Lake Ave. SE. Five buildings that total more than 100,000 square feet sit on a 7.1-acre site just north of Ulmerton Road. There are four industrial buildings and one office building. Bridgewater Commercial represented the buyer and Mark Klein and Steve Klein of Klein & Heuchan Inc. represented the seller.

“My client needed a large industrial property with additional acreage to accommodate their business,” Kris Dumke, managing broker at Bridgewater Commercial, said in a release. “Industrial properties of any size are difficult to find in Pinellas as we have the second-largest base of manufacturing employment in the state.”

Dumke told the Tampa Bay Business Journal the buyer has “extensive plans for the space” and that it will remain an industrial usage. Dumke said the market for industrial assets is rapidly changing in the county and what limited stock remains is in high demand. He added the market is seeing industrial spaces redeveloped into other uses, which continues to lessen the supply.

Steve Klein also said that an industrial site in the center of the county spanning 7 acres that also lies near Ulmerton Road, which connects to highways and interstates, is a rarity and led to a wave of interest from buyers.

Hearin Lumber Co. has been in business since 1954 as a wholesale distributor of lumber products. The third-generation business began in Clearwater and later moved to the Largo site, which at that time was owned by the railroad. The family that owns Hearin Lumber is now in its fourth generation and the current owners do not wish to continue the company, according to Klein, and thus will be closing the business.

It was the perfect time to sell, according to Klein, and he said the industrial buildings have “very high and large bay doors” and “checked all boxes for what’s hot today.”

CEP is the investing arm of Financial Investments Corp., a private asset management firm with over $2 billion in investment commitments, according to the firm’s website. Financial Investments Corp. has investments in businesses like Boca Raton-based Coastal Waste & Recycling, Dallas-based Sunbelt Waterproofing and Restoration, Nashville-based Leap Partners and St. Louis-based Solution Works.